


I Could Fall, I Could Fly

by babycomebaek



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 02:43:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13515027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babycomebaek/pseuds/babycomebaek
Summary: Fate likes to play games. Faith makes you go along with it.or the soulmate!au where Chanyeol wants Baekhyun to believe their strings are connected, Kyungsoo thinks he's lying, and Jongin wants to know if it's all worth it in the end.





	I Could Fall, I Could Fly

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for the fandom! I really enjoyed writing this story, I hope you do too as well! <3

Chanyeol's first client of the year has a gray string looped around her pinky finger - which meant that her soulmate is already gone. Chanyeol sighed. _So much for a good start._

On good days, his clients would take this news calmly. It's not like they've been waiting their whole life for this, right? They were just curious, is what they would say, but being in this business for more than 5 years, Chanyeol got better into reading the disappointment painted on his clients’ faces.

The hope and glimmer in their eyes had disappeared from the time they came in to his office. The hope of a more exciting life in search for their soulmate already came into an end without even starting.

He had clients walk away without saying anything. He had clients asking him again and again if he was sure, if it’s not a glitch in to his ability, and if they come back after 6 months, he'd find someone else again.

He had clients who had cried in front of him, and then after a moment of silence, smiled at him and thanked him for his time. And Chanyeol never saw or heard from them ever again.

On bad days, the client would go on an emotional fit. They yelled at him, claimed he and his whole business was a fraud, and accused him of saying these things because he wanted clients who would pay better for his service. He had articles after articles, blatantly asking him to shut down his business – but the more haters he had, the higher amount of people would book an appointment. It’s a win for Chanyeol.

He had one client who, after hearing the news, silently got up and punched him without a warning. The appointment ended up with a busted lip on Chanyeol and a broken arm on his client.

Chanyeol gently held the string between his fingertips as it floats in mid-air, passing through the walls of his office, leading somewhere. He closed his eyes and a stream of white light envelopes his vision.

When his vision cleared up, Chanyeol was standing in front of a tombstone with the name: 'Kim Gang-hyun' engraved on it, and a gray string pierced through it.

 _What a shame._ Chanyeol thought. _This guy would have been an easy find._

Aside from seeing the red string on people, touching it also allowed him to see a limited vision of where the other end leads to. _It’s like he’s spectating_ , Chanyeol would say when asked what he saw on his vision.

Sometimes he’d be floating right above the person. Other times he would see right what the person was seeing, as if it was Chanyeol himself and it became more like a game for him to look for any clues to know exactly his whereabouts before the vision fades out.

It would've taken him 2-3 days to travel to his location depending on how fast Kyungsoo would find him and how eager his client would be to meet her soulmate. Chanyeol would meet the other person privately first and explain the nature of his work and only ask the client to follow if the person agrees so the two can finally meet.

And Chanyeol's job is done, whether they decide to further into their relationship or not. They paid him to let them see each other, not to make them date anyway.

The reward of the whole fiasco comes in months or a year later when Chanyeol gets a wedding invitation from his former clients. This is the part where he felt like all the hard work has paid off.

"You didn't actually do anything except follow a fucking string, Chanyeol." Kyungsoo would butt in, glass of wine in his hand (most likely his second), after a crowd of former and future clients showered him with compliments and bugged Kyungsoo to book them an appointment as soon as possible. “I did most of the work here.”

"And for that I’m eternally grateful, Soo." Chanyeol said, taking the glass of wine from Kyungsoo’s grasp and drinks it one go before puckering his lips to try and give his friend a sloppy kiss on the cheek which was Kyungsoo’s signal to get the fuck away from him.

Chanyeol’s attention would then shift to the newly wedded couple on the dance floor, watching the red string of fate around them floating around and glowing brighter than the last time he saw it. Chanyeol ignored the lump on his chest as he glanced down on his own finger, without any sign of a string that’s meant to be there.

Chanyeol slowly opened his eyes and immediately looked down on the clipboard lying on his lap.

Name: Kim Tae-yeon

Age: 28 years old

Reason for Appointment: I'm just curious.

Kyungsoo's Notes: She's off to an arranged marriage with a CEO whose family helped establish their business of Beauty Cosmetics.

Taeyeon’s face alone was enough to market their business of cosmetics. If Gang-hyun was just alive to see her, he'd probably take her hand for marriage even before Chanyeol does his spill of soulmates and the string of fate.

"Mr. Park, is there something wrong?"

Chanyeol blinked. "Sorry, I - I didn't notice I was staring."

"No, it's okay." She gave him a smile fit for celebrities and if Chanyeol’s reading was right, Taeyeon didn’t look anywhere near discomfort. This must be a situation she’s been to many times already.

Taeyeon tucked her loose hair behind her ear as she leaned forward. “Were you able to see my, uhm -" She looks down before meeting his eyes again, "-my soulmate?"

 _Here we go._ Chanyeol stood up straight and placed the clipboard on the side table beside him.

"I'm sorry Ms. Kim, but your string of fate had turned to gray, which means your soulmate is already gone. It’s such a shame though, he's actually here in -"

"-By gone...you mean dead, right?

The interruption caught Chanyeol off guard, his eyes suddenly fixed on Taeyeon’s passive, if not, interested reaction for such harrowing news. Maybe it didn’t register to her yet, Chanyeol dismissed. "Uh, y-yeah. As I was saying, he's here in-"

There was a clap and Chanyeol almost looked around to see where it came from if it wasn’t for Taeyeon’s movements in front of him.

"Oh, thank god." Taeyeon leaned back to her seat, arms crossed above her chest. "You just made my day, Mr. Park."

 _Okay. What the fuck?_  This was not the reaction he was expecting from her. _No._ This was not a reaction any of his clients had given to him – _ever._

"I don't get it." He managed to say.

"Don't get what?" Taeyeon asked, a look of disbelief in her eyes as if Chanyeol’s reaction was something out of the ordinary. "You don't get why I'm happy?"

"I don't get why you're not sad."

"Because it's stupid. This whole thing is stupid."

Chanyeol clenched his jaw. He looked away for a second and breathes out a deranged chuckle. "You're the one who came here asking if I could find your soulmate. And now you're saying this whole thing is stupid?"

"Because I wanted to see for myself what this crazy thing everyone was so willing to spend their money on.” Taeyeon cocked her head on the side and raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t force anyone to come here.” Chanyeol felt his fingernails digging into his knees as he leaned forward, eyes glaring back to his client.  "They came here on their own.”

"Because you sold them an idea that you with the right amount of price, you could chase your soulmate. You’ve turned something that’s meant to be accidental and magical into a business.”

"And you're against it?" Chanyeol met people like this before. This was nothing new. He had clients who spite him for having to pay for a service he should be doing for charity. "I can’t do this shit for free, Ms. Kim. I need to eat, I need a place to sleep. I don’t think that’s something you’d understand.”

Taeyeon smiled at that. “Oh, I understand that, Mr. Park. What I’m saying is,” she paused and crossed her legs, “It’s the thing that you do with fate. Why don't you should just let the universe do its thing?”

"And wait around until you die?"

Taeyeon shrugged. "Most people don't even believe it exists. People lived and died not knowing there’s a string around their fingers and they still managed to live in peace. And then here you are, offering a one-of-a-kind service and everyone suddenly thinks they're missing out on something."

Taeyeon’s whole gentle and playful demeanor dropped together with her last words. And she was staring back at him as if he did something so awful and unforgivable.

He opened his mouth to say something in his defense, but nothing came out. Chanyeol tried to move his legs and stand up, but the heavy weight on his shoulder froze him into this seat. He looked down on his feet. He never saw his business this way. Everyone around him thought he was doing everything a favor. He _thought_ he was doing everything a favor.

She took his silence to continue. "I'm going to marry this guy I've only met once and I’m not going to run away. Even if you told me where and who he was - I’m not going to leave him. I won't go to him. That's not how it works, Mr. Park."

" _Bullshit.”_ Chanyeol said, finally finding his voice.

“Excuse me?”

Chanyeol felt the heat on his back crawl up to his neck. “I said bullshit.” He spoke a little louder. “So you're telling me, you don't even feel the slightest bit of curiosity who it is? _Who it was_?"

It was Taeyeon’s turn to be silent. “Must be easy for you to say since yours is dead, huh?"

Chanyeol stood up and felt the strength he seemingly lost a while ago come back. "It must be easy for you to make fun of people who believes in this stupid thing while you wait around and sit comfortably and have people literally throw themselves at you.”

He took a step forward, his eyes drilling into the head of the girl who refused to look back at him.

 "Unfortunately for some people, they don’t have the luxury of living like you, or looking like you so waiting around was never an option. They chase and they beg and they're terrified. Terrified that they would end up alone and this - this _stupid service_ I’m offering – was their last resort.”

Chanyeol looked up at the gray string that floats around the room. “The first time I told my client that his soulmate was long gone, he killed himself that very same night.”

“If you think I walk around here feeling like a god and not feeling like a complete shit whenever something like that happens, then clearly, you don’t know anything about me, or what I do at all.” Chanyeol turned around and headed towards the door, placing his hand on the door knob.

“I think this is where our appointment ends, Ms. Kim.” He swung the door open.

He watched Taeyeon lost her balance as she stood up, her eyes looking everywhere but Chanyeol’s. She clutched her bag on her chest and hastily walked her way towards the door. There was a voice inside his head to end it this way, that he already made his point, but something darker crawled into Chanyeol’s mind and he found himself blocking Taeyeon’s way.

"Kim Gang-hyun. That's his name. That's the name of your soulmate.”

Before Chanyeol could see her reaction, Taeyeon ran past him mumbling a series of apologies and incoherent words. He watched her gray string follow her until they were out of his sight.

\---

When Kyungsoo came in five minutes later, he found Chanyeol sitting behind his desk and hitting his head repeatedly against it.

"Well, that was interesting."

Chanyeol stopped and rested his chin on the surface of the table, puffing out the hair away from his forehead. He stared on the digital clock on his side as Kyungsoo leaned against the space next to him. It was just 15 minutes before noon and Chanyeol felt like he needed to call it a day already.

As if reading his thoughts, Kyungsoo mentioned about his next appointment today. "And just so you know, you broke a major rule."

Chanyeol dropped his head back into the desk. "I know."

"You're not allowed to say the name of the person on the other side of the string if he's dead."

"I know."

"Aside from showing respect, we created this rule to give our clients peace of mind so they won't do anything stupid, like attend their funeral and make a scene or do worse things - _like join them_."

Chanyeol looked up at him, "I know, Soo. I made these rules."

"Then why the hell did you break it, then?" Kyungsoo asked before flicking his forehead. Chanyeol jumped up from his seat and rubbed the burning spot on his skin. Kyungsoo remained unfazed. "You never did this to anyone before. And you had worse clients."

"Guess I was trying to punish her?"

"For what? For not believing in what you do?"

 _For being right_ , Chanyeol wanted to say. For making him believe that maybe _she_ was right after all.

Maybe he wasn't doing anyone a favor, if any, he was just making things worse. If people didn't know someone could actually track where their soulmate was and who they were, they would've lived their lives just like anyone else. No one has to doubt their partners if they were the one on each other’s end of the string.  No has to take their own lives when they found out their soulmate is dead.

Noticing the way Chanyeol looked upset by something, Kyungsoo pushed himself away from the desk and lowered his head to look up at Chanyeol. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Chanyeol bit his bottom lip and shook his head. He glanced down at the string looped around Kyungsoo's pinky finger. "I just needed to cool my head. What time's the next appointment?"

Kyungsoo doesn't push him to say anything any further. "5 pm. You have plenty of time to rest. You'll need it."

Chanyeol leaned against the wall and gently hit his head backwards. “Please tell me it’s not another CEO with an arranged marriage. I’ve had enough of that for today.”

"It’s not. This one’s a friend of a friend. He’s kinda – _desperate_. _”_

 “How desperate?”

“They said if you don’t find his soulmate, he’ll fly to Africa and live with the wild for the rest of his life. They wanted to make sure that doesn’t happen."

Chanyeol found himself smiling for the first time today. "Seriously? Is he 80 years old or something?"

Kyungsoo took out his phone from his back pocket, scrolling through something. "He's actually the same age as yours."

"And he's already _that_ desperate?"

"He's dramatic, is what I keep hearing from them." Kyungsoo stopped his finger from a series of pictures on his gallery and flipped his phone so it was facing Chanyeol. "You've met Jongdae and Minseok before, but just so you know, he's the one with the bunny mask."

 _Ah, Jongdae and Minseok._ The interesting couple he met on a party he and Kyungsoo attended. Chanyeol had already downed a number of vodkas by the time he met them and blurted out that their strings were connected. The crowd around them went crazy.

Jongdae was bouncing around the room, his voice loud and clear as he boasts to pretty much everyone that Minseok's his soulmate. The latter however, was completely dumbfounded. It was a mistake for Chanyeol to loop his arm around the smaller lad and whispered ‘Free of charge’ – because the next thing he knows, he's being shoved against the wall with such ease (or maybe Chanyeol's just _really,_ really drunk) and Minseok's glaring up at him before saying, 'I didn't ask for your opinion, didn't I?'

The people in the party barely noticed what happened. Chanyeol never mentioned it to anyone. He made sure to get out of Minseok's sight by the rest of the night.

Chanyeol reached out for Kyungsoo's phone. "What's his name?"

"Baekhyun."

 _Baekhyun_.

The name does ring a bell whenever Kyungsoo mentions Minseok and Jongdae in their conversations. Funny how he never cared about who the mysterious guy is.

His eyes barely glanced on Jongdae and Minseok (whose costume really fit his seemingly twisted personality) before locking in on the guy with the bunny mask and he was pretty sure his heart just skipped two beats before landing a punch on his gut because _holy shit._

__

_Holy shit._ He almost blurted out.

_Holy. Shit._

_Pretty w_ as the first word that Chanyeol could think of looking at the stranger’s face.

Kyungsoo must be joking. _There's no way a guy who looks like this is desperate to find someone._

Anyone would be stupid enough not to throw themselves at this guy.

 _I would throw myself at him,_ Chanyeol admitted, feeling another tug on his chest.

His friends were right – this guy shouldn't go to Africa or anywhere else. He should be right here, inside his office and -

_Oh right._

And help him find his soulmate. That was his job.

_Fuck._

He internally smacked himself in the face.

"H-how come we never saw him with Minseok and Jongdae?"

He had interesting and attractive people came in to his office – celebrities, politicians, models, you name it - and Chanyeol had a fair share of fun with some of them (even with Kyungsoo’s strong disapproval and repeated litany of their rules).

And yet, no matter how much they seem to like each other, the string around their fingers was a constant reminder that none of them would ever lead to Chanyeol and at the end of the day, it was his job to find their soulmates.

“Maybe you’ll see it when your soulmate shows up.” Kyungsoo had once told him when they were out drinking and Chanyeol was having a soulmate crisis.  "You’re gonna see actual fireworks around you and cherry blossoms would come out of your ass and all that shit when you see him, or her, or whatever.”

But months turned into a year, and a year turned into five, and then ten - and Chanyeol grew tired of waiting, of playing around, of trying to convince himself that someone out there would be the reason for his string to show up.

It was ironic how he made people believe that soulmates do exist despite him not having a single clue if he actually had one.

And yet there he was, staring at this person he never met before and there’s a flicker of hope that burns deep inside him. It’s so stupid. And he knows it – knows it more than anybody else. Knows that this meeting would end up just like any other meetings he had. And he would lead the stranger into his rightful soulmate and Chanyeol would act like it didn’t matter. Act like he didn’t care and he didn’t hope anything at all.

And he hates it. Hates how much he still clings onto that idea even if years had gone by. Hates how much his imagination kept on leading him to a place of happy endings and unbroken bonds and promises. Hates how quickly he imagined this person would be any different – because he felt something. Something he thought he'd never feel again in such a long time.

And as stupid as it sounds – he’s going to hold onto it.

_Stupid Chanyeol and that stupid bunny mask._

"Chanyeol."

Chanyeol blinked. "Uh, yeah?"

"You’re drooling.”

Chanyeol unconsciously covered his mouth with his hand and laughed because wow, he was actually drooling. “Yeah - sorry. I got lost on how pretty this bunny guy is.”

Kyungsoo gaped at him. “You’re seriously not thinking about that right now.”

“I am seriously thinking about that right now.” Chanyeol reassured him.

"Park Chanyeol. Stop. Hitting. On. Your. Clients." Kyungsoo shot death glares at him. “He's a friend."

"-Of a friend."

"Don’t you fucking dare.”

“Fiiiine,” Chanyeol dragged out, raising both of his arms in defeat. "I won't do anything."

Kyungsoo rocked back into his heel and sighed in relief. "Asshole."

"-Unless he wants me to."

Kyungsoo didn't miss a beat on landing a backhand slap on Chanyeol's face.

\----

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

"We're not doing this, Baek. _You're doing this._ " Jongdae chided behind him, watching Baekhyun fix his ashen hair in the mirror while he elegantly sat cross-legged on the edge of a bathub, a glass of watermelon shake in hand. “Just relax. It’d be fun!”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. If he only knew this is the kind of help he’d be getting, then he shouldn’t have agreed to it in the first place.

Maybe he was a bit desperate. And maybe he was being too overdramatic when he told Jongdae and Minseok that he’d be flying to Africa and take a vow of celibacy because no one loves him and no one really cares for him anymore.

But he was definitely not _that_ desperate to ask a random guy with weird powers to track his soulmate and let Jongdae pay for it just because he thinks it would be fun (and because he probably doesn’t know where else to waste his money on).

He wasn’t even a hundred percent sure that Chanyeol really has that kind of ability. And even if he does, Baekhyun wasn’t so sure he’d let a complete stranger just drag him to some place and introduce a guy saying, ‘Congratulations, here’s your soulmate’ and expect Baekhyun to just jump in his arms and marry that person right there.

 _That’s not how it works_.  

“I hope your soulmate lives somewhere really far,” Jongdae  cut him off his thoughts “– like in Iceland. I’ve always wanted to go there and see the Northern Lights with Minseok.”

“Why the fuck would my soulmate be in Iceland? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Jongdae shrugged and popped his lips as he finished off his drink. “I don’t know, maybe you’ll get famous or something and you’ll have a tour in Iceland and you’ll meet him.”

“I’ll probably be dead before that happens.”

Jongdae's laughter echoed across the bathroom that was big enough to fit an entire basketball team. “And this is exactly why we need Chanyeol’s help - so you would stop being over dramatic."

"I'm not being over dramatic, okay? I'm being realistic."

Jongdae puffed. “Said the one who’s going to fly to Africa to be one with the wild.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“And take a vow of celibacy?”

“That was just a joke!”

“Jokes are half-meant, Baek. And knowing you, you’d probably do it.”

“I said it was a joke!” Baekhyun snapped, slamming his open hand against the surface of the counter. It took him a second to realize what he did when he saw Jongdae's shell-shocked reaction in the mirror, blinking repeatedly  behind him.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun mumbled after minutes of uncomfortable silence. “I’m being a dick.”

“Me too.” Jongdae said, shuffling behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Guess I went too far, huh?”

Baekhyun shook his head, " It's nothing," turning around but still refusing to look at his friend. “I just - I don't want you to think I'm being desperate."

"God, Baek," Jongdae's hand tightened around his arms. "Look at me." Baekhyun lowered his head even further, if that was even possible. Left with no choice, Jongdae bended his knees so he was the one looking above Baekhyun.

"Baekhyun."

The lad finally complied, sighing and casting his eyes back to his friend who smiled gently at him.

"I never said you're desperate. And, and," Jongdae was chasing Baekhyun's eyes as he tried to look away. "If I ever made you feel that way - I'm sorry."

"Jongdae..."

“And if you don't want to do this anymore, then you have don't have to. I'll cancel the appointment. " Jongdae squeezed his arms. "For good."

And times like these made Baekhyun wonder what the hell did he do in his past life to deserve someone like Kim Jongdae. They weren’t even childhood friends. Not even schoolmates or neighbors. They didn’t even have any mutual friends. Jongdae was all suit and ties, sports cars and expensive perfumes. Baekhyun was unwashed jeans, torn rubber shoes and had the scent of a sweaty couch.

Their lives weren’t really meant to intertwine if it wasn’t for Jongdae's drunken escapades and bumped into a couple of yet another drunken guys. They were in the middle of stripping off every piece of clothing and accessory Jongdae had when Baekhyun passed by. Baekhyun was in a really bad mood that time and knew it was the universe telling to him to just start drop kicking everybody.

Turns out, Jongdae wasn't just any drunken dude. He was _the_ Kim Jongdae - the only heir of 'South Wind Hotels Group' one of the largest  hotel companies in the world.  

After mending his wounds and listen to Jongdae blame his Idiot boyfriend while he eat Baekhyun's last stock of cup noodles, the two bid farewell. Jongdae had thanked him for at least thirty times that night before hailing a cab (that Baekhyun paid for because the bastards managed to get away with the ~~poor~~ rich guy's phone and wallet) and left Baekhyun with no ramen and no spare money that night.

Two weeks later, Baekhyun was literally dragged out of his prison cell-like room by two men in black-suits and asked him if he had any possessions he wanted to bring with him (probably to his grave, because where else will they take him?). When he said no, Baekhyun was thrown inside a black van and everything was blur after that.

Literally and figuratively.

Baekhyun met Jongdae's family and had a feast _just for him_ as they go around and personally thank Baekhyun (who's still traumatized thinking he was on his road to death). He also met Minseok, who was the 'idiot boyfriend' Jongdae mentioned and was the reason for Jongdae's binge drinking that night. He also managed to beat Jongdae and his family's record of saying thank you's.

It was all fun - and probably the most exciting thing that ever happened to Baekhyun's life - until Jongdae brought him to one of their suites and nonchalantly handed him a single key.

"You'll live here now. And no, Baekhyun. I won't take no for an answer," Jongdae said the moment he saw Baekhyun's mouth open. "Whether you choose to go back to your job or not - I don't care. But you're not going back to that place. _Please,_ let me do this for you."

If it was out of pity, or it was in Jongdae's nature to just hand out keys to his place to strangers - Baekhyun didn't question it. Baekhyun was in no place to argue, or even weigh his options because clearly, there was none.

And that's what Jongdae has been doing for the past three years of his unlikely friendship with Baekhyun. Always giving, and understanding - sometimes Baekhyun thinks he might have put something on that ramen because why in the world would someone like Kim Jongdae waste time and money on someone like him.

"Don't cancel the appointment."

Jongdae sighed. "But you're clearly upset about it."

"I'm not."

"Then what is it?" Jongdae's hands slid his hands from Baekhyun's arms to his wrist.

"I'm scared."

"Of Chanyeol? Believe me, Minseok is-"

"Of everything." Baekhyun blurted out. And maybe that was the core of it all, of his nervousness and edginess and his lack of snarky comebacks to throw back at Jongdae. "Dae, what if - what if he's dead? What if he's married? What if I never find someone? What if I die alone. I don't want to-"

"Baek-"

"What if my soulmate's a girl? _God_ , now that I thought of it - I haven't - I never.."

Jongdae's palms landed on both sides of Baekhyun's cheeks. The action startled Baekhyun, but it was enough to make him pliant. "Aigoo, this kid." Jongdae shook his head, his thumbs circling just beneath Baekhyun's eyes. "If I knew this is what's going in your head, I shouldn't have made the appointment."

"I hate being like this." Baekhyun said quietly.

"So stop."

"It's not easy-ow!" Jongdae pinched his cheeks and shake his head along with it. "Daaaae..."

"Don't make this a big deal."

"But-"

"Listen to me."

Baekhyun quickly pursed his lips.  

"If you decide to meet Chanyeol, then open your mind. If your soulmate's dead, married, a girl, an alien, then accept it. If he's none of the above, then congratulations! But don't let this thing dictate the rest of your life."

Baekhyun nodded in silence.

"People had lived for years without knowing soulmates exist and they still ended up with someone that made them happy. It didn't matter if they were soulmates. They were in love, and that's enough."

Jongdae patted Baekhyun's cheeks before letting go and headed towards the doorway.

"Now, are we still going or should I book our flight to Africa?"

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. "Damn it, Jongdae. I was about to cry."

"Not in my watch, drama queen."

\---

"If you call me again, I swear to god, I'll shove this phone down your throat."

"But-" The line dropped and Kyungsoo made sure Chanyeol would hear it from his office. Sighing, Chanyeol gently put down the phone and watched the hands of the clock move. It has been 15 minutes since their said appointment and there was no sign of Baekhyun yet.

Chanyeol started drumming his fingers on his desk. What if he decided not to show up after all? What if Minseok convinced him that he's an asshole and Baekhyun shouldn't meet him?

After the exhausting meeting with Taeyeon, he went back to his place and tried to take a nap. Five minutes in and Chanyeol knew it was a hopeless case. He decided to spend the next hour looking for the perfect outfit.

After scouring a number of clothes, and calling Kyungsoo for any updates, Chanyeol went on Instagram and searched for Minseok and Jongdae's account for research purposes. He wasn't disappointed. Baekhyun was everywhere.

Chanyeol was cocooned inside his sheets; face strained from smiling as he browsed every picture Baekhyun was in. He managed to control himself from double-tapping every single picture because the last thing he wants to come off is a stalker. 

Chanyeol almost fell off his chair when the phone _finally_ rings.

He heard Kyungsoo's sigh on the other end of the line.

“Baekhyun’s here." 

\---

Chanyeol realized three things when Baekhyun walked into his office.

1) It was possible for someone to knock the air out of you without actually punching you.

Baekhyun just did that to him.

His hair wasn’t pink anymore and to be honest, Chanyeol wouldn’t mind even if Baekhyun’s hair turned to gold or rainbow. He’d look good in any color – Chanyeol was sure of that. When their eyes met, Chanyeol had to silently take a deep, deep breath because _holy fuck_ – he’s wearing eyeliners. This is worse than seeing his pictures – Chanyeol was pretty sure his soul left his body and had a glimpse of afterlife, just looking at Baekhyun’s eyes. He noticed the mole right above Baekhyun’s lips and _really, Baekhyun_? _Lipgloss?_ He might as well stab Chanyeol with a knife while he’s at it.

2) Baekhyun’s voice could raise the dead a.k.a Chanyeol.

When the lad noticed the outright ogling of Chanyeol, Baekhyun cleared his throat just before Chanyeol’s eyes narrow down to his jawline. There were still a lot of things to point out and Chanyeol needed more than a day to do that so he had to shut his brain up or Baekhyun might run away. CHanyeol doesn’t want that. Unless Baekhyun’s into the cat and mouse game – then Chanyeol’s definitely into that.

“Mr. Park”

Baekhyun saying his last name must be his newest kink and just to be sure, Chanyeol wanted to hear Baekhyun say _his name_.

Chanyeol collected himself a bit, brushing away the never-ending thoughts of how to describe Baekhyun aside from using the word _gorgeous_. He needed to be professional, at least for the next hour – until one of them breaks from the sexual tension Chanyeol is willing to build himself. What a true gentleman. 

He extended his hand and put the other one on his back, leaning a bit forward just so he could get a closer look at Baekhyun. “Please, Baekhyun – just call me Chanyeol.”

Chanyeol didn’t miss the way Baekhyun’s face reddened and things were going as smooth as Baekhyun’s voice.

That was until the third realization came up.

3)  Baekhyun doesn’t have his string. Or better yet, Chanyeol couldn’t see his string.

Delicate looking fingers reached for his hand, and the distance almost felt like a charge of electricity just waiting to spark. Chanyeol’s hand automatically drew back when his eyes landed on Baekhyun’s bare hands.

_Nothing._

No string, no thread looped in a ribbon on his pinky finger. Realization sunk in and Chanyeol looked up, trying to find any sign of the red thread.

A number of thoughts ran through Chanyeol’s head, but none of them deemed reasonable enough to open his mouth and say something without further proof.

This never happened before.

 _There must be a mistake_.

\---

 _Ah, I knew it_.

Baekhyun tried to keep a straight face as he watched the expression of Chanyeol fall from the sight of his hands. He must’ve seen it already – _the gray string_.

Baekhyun’s finger slowly curled and he brought it down to his side, Chanyeol still unaware of what he did as his eyes kept searching for something.

 _There’s nothing for you to find. He’s dead. My soulmate’s dead_.

The realization made Baekhyun’s lungs constrict. _He shouldn’t have come in here_. He was only torturing himself and no amount of pep talk from Jongdae could make him feel any less sorry for himself. This was the cherry on top of his impending miserable love life.

He took a quick glance on Chanyeol who stood still in front of him, shaking his head and mumbling to himself, as if he had forgotten Baekhyun was there. Not that it matter now, anyway. Baekhyun would rather stand here and hold himself up, rather than sit through the next hour just waiting for Chanyeol to drop the bomb.

Baekhyun bit his bottom lip to stop it from trembling.  “Chanyeol, it’s okay...”

Chanyeol was looking back at him again. _No, don’t give me that look_. The last thing he wanted was pity from a complete stranger.

“J-just say it. Just say that my string’s gray. And my soulmate’s dead and _fuck-“_ Baekhyun clasped his mouth and looked down. He watched his tears falls one after the other with no signs of stopping. He should’ve cried it all out back in Jongdae’s place. This was clearly a one, huge mistake.

“Just fucking say it so I could go.”

“Baekhyun…” For someone he just met few minutes ago, Chanyeol sure knows how to sound like he actually cared. And Baekhyun hated it – he doesn’t need that. He didn’t ask for that. He wanted the truth. He wanted to move on as fast as he can. To forget this thing ever happened.

“You don’t have to be nice to me, Chanyeol. I can take it, these tears are just,” Baekhyun croaked as he angrily wiped the tears away from his cheeks, “I just had a bad day – please, just get it over with – I don’t want to –“

“Baekhyun…”

The lad barely noticed the close distance they’re sharing now. Chanyeol was literally towering above him, looking down on him, his brows furrowed with such worry that Baekhyun doesn’t know where it’s all coming from.

“Baekhyun.”

Before he could reply, Baekhyun felt Chanyeol’s hand on his cheeks.

“Look at me.”

Baekhyun could barely process what’s happening. Why is Chanyeol touching him? And why isn’t he pushing him away?

“Baekhyun, _please_.”

Blinking away the tears, Baekhyun swallowed hard and looked up at Chanyeol through his eyelashes, his hand unconsciously reaching on the hem of Chanyeol’s sweater.

The taller smiled gently and ran his thumb on the side of his eyes, Baekhyun leaning into the touch.

  _Is this still part of Chanyeol’s job? To comfort his clients who break down in front of him?_

“Your string’s not gray.”

“What?”

“Your string,” Chanyeol reached out Baekhyun’s hand, his fingers tracing along his knuckles, “it’s still red.”

“But, you – you looked…You looked at my hand.”

“Do you trust me, Baekhyun?”

“I – I don’t know…we just met and I –“

“I’m sorry – I asked the wrong question.”

Baekhyun shivered as Chanyeol intertwined their fingers together and slowly brought it up so Baekhyun could see.

“I need you to trust me.” Chanyeol said with a tone that barely gave Baekhyun any choice but to gesture a quick nod.

Chanyeol gently pulled Baekhyun’s hand and brought it to his lips, his hot breath ghosting over the skin that made Baekhyun feel warm and numb at the same time.

“Chanyeol…”

 Pressing his palm on Baekhyun’s, Chanyeol slowly spread his fingers, his eyes fixated on where their pinky fingers are right next to each other. Baekhyun followed where his gaze was, heart beating fast on his chest.

“Your string’s right here,” Chanyeol whispered, “It’s here. Right next to mine.”

Baekhyun’s mind went blank.

 

“Baekhyun…I’m your soulmate.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you're into long-written chapters, because that's definitely where the rest of the chapters are going!  
> Would love to hear your thoughts <3  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
